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Why do so few women choose manufacturing careers?

Why is the number of women in manufacturing so small, and why are those numbers declining? Industry Week writes about it:

In 2016, women accounted for just 29% of all U.S. manufacturing jobs. When you consider that women make up 47% of the entire U.S. workforce, that's an alarmingly low number. What's even more alarming is that the problem has nothing to do with job shortages. Instead, manufacturing is suffering from a significant shortage of skilled workers and ingrained misconceptions of male-dominated industry steeped in tradition.

And things aren't getting better ...

During the next ten years, 3.5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs will be created and approximately 2 million roles will go unfilled. The industry has gone from producing 28% of the world's goods in 1985, down to 18.2%. Clearly, something needs to change.

Gender diversity, combined with a skilled talent pool could be the answer to manufacturing growth. A 2015 study found that companies with gender diversity were 15% “more likely to outperform” their bottom line potential. That means gender diverse work environments have the potential to increase revenue and profits.